Laid Low The pain of a knee injury and of seeing Tennessee thrive without him made Jamal Lewis, the Volunteers' stellar tailback, realize he's not invincible

Three times a week Jamal Lewis imagines being peacefully dead.He lies on his back in a yoga position called the Corpse Poseand lets his mind drift to distant places. He envisions his legmuscles becoming flexible, in hopes that they won't ever betrayhim. He closes his mind to the naive self-confidence that onlylast autumn caused him to take his gifts for granted. Mostimportant, he travels as far as possible from the afternoon ofOct. 3, 1998.

When that day began, Lewis was a sophomore tailback atTennessee, one of the most promising running backs in thecountry. He'd rushed for a school freshman record 1,364 yards in1997 and was averaging more than 120 yards a game through fourstarts in '98. At 6'1" and 230 pounds, with 4.4 speed and abench press north of 400 pounds, the 19-year-old Lewis wasalmost unfairly talented. "First time I handed the ball off tohim and watched him hit the hole, I thought, This isn't anyordinary running back," says Peyton Manning, who was Tennessee'ssenior quarterback during Lewis's freshman year.

On the third play of the fourth quarter that day atAuburn--Lewis already had 118 yards on 16 carries--everythingchanged. From the Tennessee 16-yard line, Vols quarterback TeeMartin called Eight-pitch, a simple toss sweep to the rightside. Lewis snatched the ball out of the air and ran intotraffic. He was hit on the inside of his right knee, causing thejoint to buckle. He limped off the field and sat out the rest ofthat series, but returned for Tennessee's next possession.Again, Martin called Eight-pitch. This time Lewis took the tossand turned the corner. Twenty-one yards upfield, two defendersapproached on a severe angle, so Lewis planted his right foot tocut back. "And nothing happened," he says. "No cut. Nothing. Ijust sat down right there. I knew something was way wrong."

That something was a torn lateral collateral ligament. Threedays later Lewis had surgery, and his season was over. His egowould soon hurt worse than his knee. The Volunteers, who weresupposed to ride on his broad back, got better without him. Weekafter week, Tennessee won while Lewis watched. Martin matured.Reserve tailbacks Travis Henry and Travis Stephens combined torush for 1,447 yards. "I know this sounds crazy," says Volsoffensive coordinator Randy Sanders, "but I'm not sure we wouldhave won the national championship if Jamal hadn't gotten hurt,because we would have depended on him so much that everybodyelse would never have grown up."

On Nov. 14 doctors allowed Lewis to visit the locker room beforethe Vols' harrowing 28-24 win over Arkansas. Walking among histeammates as they prepared to play, Lewis was spooked by hisimpotence. "I was happy for those guys," Lewis says, "but Iwanted to play so bad, it about brought tears to my eyes."

Lewis was at the Fiesta Bowl for the Vols'national-title-clinching 23-16 win over Florida State. Hecelebrated with his teammates back at the team hotel, but latethat night Lewis pulled wideout Cedrick Wilson aside and said,"I'm glad you won, but I'm glad the season is over. Y'all arejust like me now--nobody's playing."

Lewis's career had run on slick rails until the injury. Raisedin southwest Atlanta by Mary, the superintendent of a women'scorrectional facility, and John, who works in real estate, Jamalplayed for the Douglass High varsity as a 200-pound sophomore,even though John suggested to coach Michael Sims that Jamalmight need another year on the jayvee. "Mr. Lewis," Sims recallssaying, "your son is going to start and run for about 1,000yards. Just sit back and enjoy it." Jamal ran for 1,240 thatyear and for nearly 5,000 in his three-year career.

Lewis's decision on which college to attend came down toTennessee and Nebraska, with the Vols getting him in large partbecause Manning, in desperate need of a ground game, sold JohnLewis on the idea that if Jamal was as good as advertised, hewould start as a freshman. "You could see he knew he was good,"says Manning, now starting his second season as the IndianapolisColts' quarterback. "He had this nobody-can-tackle-me attitudeabout him."

Lewis didn't start the first three games of his freshman season,including a 33-20 loss to Florida. Coach Phillip Fulmer knewLewis was his best running back but feared that his inexperiencein pass protection could be costly. "I was afraid he'd getPeyton killed," says Fulmer. "Well, Peyton just about got killedanyway because Florida didn't respect our ground game. I cameinto the office on Sunday and told the staff, 'That's it, we'replaying Jamal.'"

Six days later Lewis trampled Mississippi for 155 yards. "Idon't know where he's been, but we couldn't tackle him," saidOle Miss coach Tommy Tuberville. The following week Lewis rolledup 232 yards against Georgia, a performance sullied four dayslater when The Atlanta Constitution broke the story that Lewishad been charged with a felony in connection with a shopliftingincident seven months earlier. Lewis pleaded guilty and paid a$1,000 fine three weeks later. "I made a mistake," says Lewis."I won't make it again."

He finished his freshman year with four straight 100-yard gamesand then got a tough 90 on 14 carries in an Orange Bowl loss toNebraska. Last season he gained 497 yards, including 82 on 21carries in the Vols' victory over Florida in Knoxville, beforethe injury. Two weeks later, he limped off the field and intolimbo.

Lewis threw himself into rehab. He ran cutting drills while Volsstrength coach Johnny Long provided resistance by pullingagainst him with long rubber cords, and pounded out sprints andchange-of-direction exercises in a 60-yard sandpit. "He knew wedid it last year without him," says Long. "That was a hugemotivating factor."

When Lewis returned to the Vols' backfield--on Sept. 4 againstWyoming--11 months had passed since the injury. "The look on hisface before the game, you just wouldn't believe," says Wilson."I didn't even go near him." Lewis busted up the Cowboys for 159yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.

On Saturday the stakes will be considerably higher when thesecond-ranked Volunteers play fourth-ranked Florida inGainesville. Lewis understands the significance of that game inways he never could have a year ago. "I appreciate everything awhole lot more now," he says. "I appreciate just being out there."

Lewis is looking ahead to pro football. The NFL--which loved himas a freshman--usually moves on when a prospect is injured, butLewis is still on the scouts' board, though not withoutreservation. "He has a lot of ability, very instinctive, cancatch the ball," says Charley Armey, vice president of playerpersonnel for the St. Louis Rams. "The knee is always going tobe a concern."

Lewis's year out of football taught him that any edge, be itmental or physical, is worth chasing. In August he beganpracticing yoga under the tutelage of Belinda Gambuzza. Lewisand Wilson signed up after seeing Gambuzza twist herself intosome unimaginable pose. "I figured that kind of flexibility hasgot to help prevent injuries," says Lewis.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights, Gambuzza leads Lewisand Wilson through a yoga session. Yoga is something that Lewisonly sheepishly admits to practicing; it's something he neverwould have considered a year ago. After all, he was invinciblethen. Now he understands the void that comes from playing nogames and hearing no cheers.